1-1 By: Hochberg (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 3524 1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2001; 1-3 April 30, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on 1-4 Education; May 8, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote: 1-5 Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 8, 2001, sent to printer.) 1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-7 AN ACT 1-8 relating to authorizing The University of Texas at Austin to 1-9 establish a flat rate tuition pilot project for certain 1-10 undergraduate students. 1-11 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-12 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 54, Education Code, is 1-13 amended by adding Section 54.069 to read as follows: 1-14 Sec. 54.069. FLAT RATE TUITION PILOT PROJECT. (a) In this 1-15 section, "tuition" means all academic program costs related to 1-16 enrollment in an academic course or degree program that are charged 1-17 to a student, including all charges designated as tuition, 1-18 mandatory fees, and incidental fees. The term does not include 1-19 voluntary fees. 1-20 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the 1-21 board of regents of The University of Texas System may establish a 1-22 pilot project at The University of Texas at Austin involving not 1-23 more than two colleges or degree programs designated by the board 1-24 of regents under which the university charges the same amount of 1-25 tuition to all undergraduate students enrolled in a college or 1-26 degree program included in the pilot project. 1-27 (c) The board of regents may not require a full-time student 1-28 who pays tuition under the pilot project to pay more tuition than 1-29 the average amount of tuition that a student not included in the 1-30 pilot project would pay for enrolling in the university for 14 1-31 semester credit hours for the same semester or term. 1-32 (d) The board of regents shall evaluate the effect of flat 1-33 rate tuition charged under the pilot project on the number of 1-34 semester credit hours taken by students included in the project 1-35 each semester. The board shall report the results of the 1-36 evaluation to the legislature not later than December 31, 2002, and 1-37 December 31, 2004. 1-38 (e) This section expires September 1, 2005. 1-39 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 1-40 a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 1-41 provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this 1-42 Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 1-43 Act takes effect September 1, 2001. 1-44 * * * * *